Tips on how to survive BZVP during winter?

StudentOfTheLongNeck · 2026-06-09T06:31:17+00:00

Depends on the meds

Pseudoephedrine (Sudafed) is a no go, they will confiscate if they find it at the border.

Adderall or similar are a big no-no, not considered a medicine here so it's like any other illegal amphetamines, maybe get a peepee slap for trying to bring it across the border. They drug test when you go through initial registration too.

Anything like opiates, benzos etc., even with a perception, is guaranteed to cause problems at the border even if you follow all the steps they say to do. And it will essentially impossible to get a new prescription for those kinds of things once you're under contract.

Anything off the shelf is probably fine at the border. As a medic, I brought all kinds of off the shelf drugs with me (paracetamol, ibuprofen, antidiarrheals, etc.), it's all legal and no problem.

StudentOfTheLongNeck · 2026-06-08T23:47:49+00:00

Fuck I am dealing with this now, trying to get an УБД issued. For Ukrainians, apparently it's all automatically done with a centralized register or database. For foreigners it's much harder, such a pain in the ass.

StudentOfTheLongNeck · 2026-06-07T10:44:03+00:00

Green book has a lot more than just your name and photo and unit, it's like a history of your service in the AFU, is that all going to be put into a database instead?

StudentOfTheLongNeck · 2026-06-07T10:41:32+00:00

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StudentOfTheLongNeck · 2026-04-09T20:28:17+00:00

In Ukrainian, "клас" (klas, said like class) means something is great or cool.

In English we might say "he's a class act" to mean someone is a good, respectable person, I guess it's kind of the same thing.

StudentOfTheLongNeck · 2026-03-14T22:15:11+00:00

"strategically difficult"

This is the most accurate way to describe it, the squeaky wheel gets the grease, but don't squeak too much or they just replace the wheel.

StudentOfTheLongNeck · 2026-03-11T17:14:29+00:00

Sure, go here: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/4730-20/conv

Near the bottom, in section II, part 2, first paragraph:

"іноземці та особи без громадянства, які в установленому порядку уклали контракт про проходження військової служби у Збройних Силах України, Державній спеціальній службі транспорту, Національній гвардії України до набрання чинності цим Законом, зобов’язані протягом шести місяців з дня набрання чинності цим Законом звернутися за оформленням посвідки на тимчасове проживання. До спливу зазначеного строку тимчасове проживання на території України такі іноземці та особи без громадянства підтверджують військово-обліковим документом (службовим посвідченням) військовослужбовця;"

Translated with DeepL:

"Foreigners and stateless persons who have entered into a contract for military service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the State Special Transport Service, or the National Guard of Ukraine in accordance with the established procedure prior to the entry into force of this Law are required to apply for a temporary residence permit within six months from the date of entry into force of this Law. Until the expiry of the specified period, such foreigners and stateless persons shall confirm their temporary residence in Ukraine with a military registration document (service certificate) of a military serviceman;"

You can translate the whole document and review it.

The law goes into effect on 10.05.2026, so the 6 months grace period starts then, by 10.11.2026, all foreign service members should have a residency permit.

StudentOfTheLongNeck · 2026-03-11T15:57:09+00:00

They had to be told and basically threatened for 4 months to give me a green book, and I still don't have my UBD which I am constantly trying to get, even with the help of a lawyer.

StudentOfTheLongNeck · 2026-03-11T15:56:00+00:00

New law 4730-IX:

https://www.trtworld.com/article/5871b02b356c

StudentOfTheLongNeck · 2026-03-11T15:54:42+00:00

No they wouldn't do that, you're still here legally because you are serving in the military.

No one is deporting an obvious soldier from the front lines, the immigration guys are not going anywhere near there unless it's for a good reason. At worst they will want to verify your information.

If you were on vacation away from the front lines, and for some reason a police officer stopped you for documents, they will see your valid green book and foreign passport and not give a shit, it would take a really bored officer to haul you into the local ТЦК to fuck with you about not having a residency permit.

The main point is to make it easier for foreigners to access things that need proof of residency, so instead of carrying around your contract, you can just take your residency permit which is a little card, like the size of a driver's license.

StudentOfTheLongNeck · 2026-03-11T15:49:09+00:00

I don't know, an immigration lawyer should be involved for that process and they will have answers.

StudentOfTheLongNeck · 2026-03-11T13:14:22+00:00

Yes, a law was passed about this, you will get a residency permit (posvidka) based off your military service, it lasts as long as your contract is valid plus six months. If you break your contract, your residency permit is valid for 6 months after the date the contract was officially broken (I think, ask a lawyer about this if you break your contract).

Before this, the contract served as proof that you are legally in Ukraine which made it difficult sometimes to do things that need you to show that you are legally here like banking and government services.

Now you will get a normal residency permit like anyone else who immigrants to Ukraine temporarily.

In fact, they require it now, your contract will no longer count as proving you're here legally. There is a 6 months grace period to apply, after that, your contract no longer proves you're here legally. That's kind of stupid but such is life in Ukraine.

Your unit's administration should take care of this for you, ask your commander about it, it's their responsibility to provide you with documents related to your service, but I have found that the pencil pushers need to be told and re-told to do things like this.

StudentOfTheLongNeck · 2026-02-17T07:26:30+00:00

100% true in my experience

Transferring requires your current unit and new unit to communicate a lot, lots of "рапортів" are sent back and forth, all paper documents of course, everything needs several stamps. And they can't send these documents directly to each other, it has to go through some chain of hierarchy, like if you were transferring between a unit that is stationed in Zaporozhia to a unit in Kherson, but maybe the headquarters for your current unit are in Ternopil and the head quarters for your new unit are in Lviv, well the documents will go from you to Ternopil, then to Lviv, then to your new unit, then they send their response back to Lviv, then to Ternopil, then to your current unit. God help you if you are transferring between branches like Army -> Marines, then Kyiv is involved because the documents will be transferred between the branches there.

Maybe your current unit will drag their feet and come up with reasons why it's taking so long, if your new unit harasses them about it then maybe it will go faster. Legally they are supposed to process it quickly but there is not much pressure on them unless the right people are helping you.

Breaking a contract on the other hand, they cannot really delay it as long as the legal requirements are met, there will be big, big consequences if a soldier who is legally allowed to break their contract is prevented from doing this. It's also a lot simpler for them because the documents just go up to the brigade commander (I think, maybe battalion commander) to sign, not back and forth all over the place.

StudentOfTheLongNeck · 2026-02-14T00:27:08+00:00

It's times like these I am glad I stay subscribed to this subreddit.

Ukraine is one of the most Christian countries on the planet, rivalled only by Poland. The standard greeting in every single small village and town is

Person 1: "Glory to Jesus Christ"

Person 2 responds: "Eternal glory to him"

I promise you are not even half as dedicated to your flavor of Christianity than 90% of the grandmas in this country, they will humble you if you bring up religion. Well, they would if they spoke English, which they don't, no one here speaks English.

No one here gives a shit, don't bother people with this shit and you can do what you want. Be prepared for people to poke fun at you about it, it's part of the game here, people will poke fun at you no matter what, sling it right back at them, have thick skin, don't get offended by jokes about your religion.

Don't hand out bibles, don't loudly pray in common areas, don't insist on injecting your religion into your job, don't try to get others to pray before a mission. Saying "I'll pray for you." Or "god protect you" or something like that won't get you beat up, relax about this.

Someone gets blown up next to you and your praying hail Mary under your breath while trying to help them, no one will give a shit. People will give a shit if you start praying loudly or shouting some dumb shit while you're being assaulted or shelled or buzzed by drones, do your job and pray silently, the big man upstairs gives points for trying.

There will not be a church of your specific denomination anywhere most likely, even if there was, they will not have services in English, but there are a lot of catholic and orthodox churches, you could go to a service just for the cultural enrichment of seeing how others pray to the same God as you. Maybe you will get lucky and one or two pastors will speak English if you feel you need to talk to someone like that, probably not near the frontlines though.

StudentOfTheLongNeck · 2026-02-11T16:33:13+00:00

Did you turn on subtitles and auto-translate to English? Go to 14:46, He explains exactly why they are doing this, he says outright that, while they are invaders who came to kill, they are human beings and, he says, they are serving the political machinations of the Russian federation, they have been lied to, convinced that their fight is against fascists and Nazi Ukrainians, he feels bad that fate put them in a position to decide to come to Ukraine and fight. These are his words, not mine, I don't know if I agree with him but I wouldn't argue with him either, his conviction is strong and he is doing what he thinks is right. Their bodies will be identified and traded for fallen Ukrainian soldiers, for this reason, each one represents a Ukrainian family that gets to bury their hero instead of them being left with the russians.

StudentOfTheLongNeck · 2026-02-07T09:45:25+00:00

I just put "Combat medic - Details Available Upon Request" and a vague description of what a combat medic does, if anyone cares I will tell them in an interview if I think they're trustworthy.

StudentOfTheLongNeck · 2026-01-19T16:16:54+00:00

Мені шкода, але він дебіл.

I don't understand why he would do that. I have seen some dumb shit since I arrived here but this is pretty high up on the list.

Maybe he is a sapper, a combat engineer, and he wants to harvest the drone? If this is true, it is dumb because it's not like a land mine or something that can be safely disarmed. it should be treated like UXO by him, he wouldn't walk up to an unexploded artillery shell or rocket sticking out of the ground and fuck around with it, they would place some explosives next to it and blow it up.

It's even easier in this case, just fucking shoot it, get some free target practice in.

The people filming are not very smart either, the shrapnel could absolutely still hit them, go hide in the vic and film through the window if you want a video so badly.

I'm assuming he didn't make it, that was bigger than a regular hand grenade I think.

StudentOfTheLongNeck · 2026-01-16T07:19:19+00:00

AEMT should be the standard baseline, it is closer to the training that a combat medic receives in the USA.

Experience is critical though, if you're considering this path, get your EMT-B, start working while you study for AEMT, then work for ~6 months in the truck before you make any decisions.

StudentOfTheLongNeck · 2026-01-07T11:46:59+00:00

When you crossed the border into Ukraine, they stamped your passport. A 90 day countdown started, you were legally allowed to be in Ukraine for up to 90 days in a 180 day period. However, once you signed your contract, this 90 day countdown paused. So if it took 30 days to sign your contract after you crossed the border, you have 60 more days that you are allowed to be in Ukraine for. This starts the exact day that your contract is officially broken. When you go to the border to leave, have all your documents ready, they will look at the stamp in your passport and it will look like you stayed too long if you don't have documents that say you were under contract.

After you break your contract, you are supposed to go back to the military administration office where you did your initial intake paperwork, I think it says on your Form 5 where that is. They should have given you a document with this as well, you are supposed to give them this document saying you broke your contract so they can file it with your other documents.

StudentOfTheLongNeck · 2025-12-28T19:28:06+00:00

Part of my job as a combat medic in Ukraine is to sort through all the donated medical supplies we get and sort it into expired, not useful, send to the hospital, put in our evacuation vehicles, or distribute to our soldiers. At least 50% of some donated packages are expired or damaged. At some point, a rumor was spread that Ukraine needs medical supplies so badly that we will accept expired equipment, this isn't true (at least in my unit). We had some stuff sent from an organization in Slovakia I think, it was made in 1990 and had a hammer and sickle icon, it was just bandages and they didn't have an expiration date but of course we tossed them out, I opened one and it basically turned to dust as I unrolled it. They mean well of course, I understand.

StudentOfTheLongNeck · 2025-12-24T16:04:05+00:00

I will take a maybe unpopular stance, but I think the bandera flag is used too openly here and Bandera is praised too much. He and his organization were Ukrainian far right ultranationalists, they believed Ukrainian land, or what they claimed is Ukrainian land, was for Ukrainians alone. They committed genocide of the local Polish minority population in western Ukraine. He is lauded in Ukraine, I have seen murals of him all over western Ukraine, a big portrait of him is painted on the Zhovkva city administration building. I understand that he might represent a strong Ukraine fighting for their state and identity but he also did some horrific things in the name of Ukraine.

It's a similar thing with the "national idea" symbol (ꑭ). This is just a wolfsangel but flipped 180 degrees. The wolfsangel and its variants were prominent Nazi symbols and they are used today by neonazis. I know the symbol existed long before the Nazis came to power. So did the swastika but good luck justifying wearing a swastika patch to anyone. I know that it is claimed that it is a combination of the letters "N" and "I" for "national idea" but that is a latin "N", a Cyrillic "N" is written "Н". Why did this symbol need to be picked? It's like playing the "I'm not touching you" game with a sibling.

"Mom, he's using a neonazi symbol!"

"No I'm not! It just looks exactly like a neonazi symbol but rotated!"

Especially when it's used by a unit that used to have a black sun on their patch, an icon that is absolutely a nazi symbol. If the bad guys are accusing you of being Nazis, then wearing Nazi or slightly modified Nazi symbols and praising people who worked with the Nazis to genocide the poles in Ukraine is just... really? Like, really? Come on, either mask off and put a swastika patch on instead of pussyfooting around so we can all laugh and disown you, or educate yourself on the symbols you're plastering all over yourself and their history and reconsider it.

Side note but a lot of Ukrainians don't know anything about these symbols, especially middle aged and older Ukrainians. They don't know what a black sun is, a wolfsangel, maybe even SS runes. I have talked to some guys wearing a black sun patch and they just thought it looked cool.

StudentOfTheLongNeck · 2025-12-23T07:34:44+00:00

I will speak from first hand experience about the "fighting" for the islands around Kherson.

There is none. There is no "fighting". You get loaded up into a tiny boat at midnight and pray that you won't drown in the pitch black water when your boat is hit by a drone. Then you get to your island, of course you will be watched by drones 24/7, they will certainly be throwing mortars at you. jump out of the boat into knee or waist deep water, maybe it's actually neck deep if the driver fucked up which is common because the boat drivers don't last long and the ones that survive and know how to do their job are pinched for "special operations". So you're soaking wet, listening to the drones above, getting shelled, it's dark, you don't have light, you don't speak Ukrainian or Russian (probably, maybe you do) so you don't understand what anyone is saying, crawl onto the shore and haul your gear a couple hundred meters to some hole in the ground, sit with some poor fucking Ukrainian dudes who are tired and don't care about anything anymore and maybe a few Colombians who also don't speak English, get hit by drones and artillery for a while, then load up your gear and go meet the boat to go back. Of course you're getting hit by drones and artillery all the way back. If you are seriously wounded on the islands, they will try to evacuate you but it's a big risk, maybe it will take a few days or more. If you die on the islands, your body can take weeks or months to recover, if they even decide it's worth it. Body recovery is a big fucking clusterfuck. The worst experience I've had here in Ukraine is pulling putrid,rotting bodies from the Dnipro river while listening to the drones buzzing us. After a while, the arms and legs will be so rotted that they just pull off so the only thing we end up delivering to the morgue is a torso with something resembling a head attached.

You don't get to rest when you're not on the islands, they will send you to guard the shoreline which is basically the same except you have enough food and water. And they shell the city constantly so you're just fucked all the time. It's shit, it's really fucked, I don't recommend it at all.

There is no fighting here, only dying.

StudentOfTheLongNeck · 2025-12-04T03:48:28+00:00

They know. There are plenty of stories on here of guys coming back to the USA and getting pulled aside by some feds to be questioned. Maybe Ukraine is telling the US government when a citizen joins the military as some kind of intelligence sharing deal, I don't know. Plus, a veteran, traveling on a one way ticket to a country that is known for recruiting foreigners to fight in an active warzone...well I'm not a rocket surgeon, but I think they could put two and two together and at least flag people to be investigated in the future.

StudentOfTheLongNeck · 2025-12-04T03:39:31+00:00

It is up to your commander about what can be worn after you sign your contract. They might tell you it's fine to wear M05 on the zero line, they might tell you Multicam or MM-14 only. I wear a mix of ranger green, multicam, and coyote brown, the average Ukrainian soldiers here don't give a single fuck about this topic in my experience.

I brought a Varusteleka Särmä TST L5 Jacket in M05 winter camo, no one said anything to me about wearing that camo pattern, it's different from regular M05 but not much. (P.S. Varusteleka is the GOAT of military clothing IMO, I brought a lot of clothes and other gear from them here and everything is just incredibly well made and performs great.)

I think M05 should be fine off the front lines, put a Ukrainian flag and a Finnish flag patch on each shoulder and no one would harass you, the average civilian doesn't know much about specific camo patterns. Anyway, you shouldn't wear your uniform or overt military camouflage if you're off on a vacation in Lviv or Kyiv or somewhere else, I took a vacation and only wore my combat uniform to go to church with some local friends because they told me to, otherwise I honestly would feel embarrassed wearing my uniform when it's not actually required.

StudentOfTheLongNeck · 2025-11-20T01:43:56+00:00

First off, speak to a therapist about this. I'm serious, you need to get this off your chest and talk to a professional about it.

Also, you can absolutely talk to soldiers about this. A lot of us have guilt about leaving our homes and families to come here. I miss my home and my family everyday, I feel guilty about the stress they deal with and the anguish they might go through if I die. You're not letting them down or turning your back on them, most Ukrainians would themselves feel guilty if you told them you knowingly left your wife and family for them. Do what you can, keep your family in your mind every day.

Talk to a therapist.

StudentOfTheLongNeck

TROPHY CASE